Alabama Civil War Map of Battles

Blockaded Family
Life in Southern Alabama
This reminiscence of daily life on a Southern plantation during the Civil War was originally published in 1888. This book is filled with vivid details of everything from methods of making dyes and preparing foods to race relations and the effects of the war. The book is an unusual and beautifully written primary source of Southern life inside the blockade imposed by the Union

This work was fascinating to read and was neither over dramatic or under written. The stories were lively and interesting and the additon of old photos and draqwings helped fill out the book.

The Battle of the Wilderness May 5-6, 1864
Fought in a tangled forest fringing the south bank of the Rapidan River, the Battle of the Wilderness marked the initial engagement in the climactic months of the Civil War in Virginia, and the first encounter between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee

The Civil War Day By Day
An Almanac, 1861-1865
The most exhaustively detailed and fascinating book on the American Civil War of its kind. Not only does it provide a day-by-day look at the major events of the war, but lists so many of the small skirmishes and actions as well. Accurate and enjoyable

Kindle AvailableCivil War Medicine
The staggering challenge of treating wounds and disease on both sides of the conflict. Written for general readers and scholars alike, this first-of-its kind encyclopedia will help all Civil War enthusiasts to better understand this amazing medical saga. Clearly organized, authoritative, and readable

The Civil War Catalog
More than 200 illustrations and restored photographs, all the weapons, uniforms, and implements of battle. Packed with color photos of insignia, medals, kits, paper ephemera, rare uniforms, and personal equipment for all enlisted ranks.

Kindle AvailablePatriotic Treason
John Brown and the Soul of America
The life of the first citizen committed to absolute racial equality. His friendships in defiance of the culture around him, He turned his twenty children into a dedicated militia. He collaborated with black leaders such as Frederick Douglass, Martin Delany, and Harriet Tubman to overthrow slavery.

The Camden Expedition of 1864 and the Opportunity Lost by the Confederacy to Change the Civil War
The Confederacy had a great opportunity to turn the Civil War in its favor in 1864, but squandered this chance when it failed to finish off a Union army cornered in Louisiana because of concerns about another Union army coming south from Arkansas. The Confederates were so confused that they could not agree on a course of action to contend with both threats, thus the Union offensive advancing from Arkansas saved the one in Louisiana and became known to history as the Camden Expedition.

In 1895, 76 years after being admitted to the Union, the Alabama Legislature authorized the "crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white" in the "Acts of Alabama." Reminiscent of the Confederate battle flag, it was designated that the crimson bars must be six inches broad and were to extend diagonally across the flag. Because act 383 did not specify a particular format, the flag is depicted sometimes as a square and at other times as a rectangle.

State Military Crest

11th Alabama

Republic of Alabama Flag

No state flag existed from 1819-1861. On January 11, 1861, the Secession Convention passed a resolution designating a flag designed by a group of Montgomery women as their official flag. This flag has often been referred to as the Republic of Alabama Flag. One side of the flag displayed the Goddess of Liberty holding in her right hand an unsheathed sword; in the left a small flag with one star. In an arch above this figure were the words "Independent Now and Forever." On the other side of the flag was a cotton plant with a coiled rattlesnake. Beneath the cotton plant are the Latin words: "Noli Me Tangere," (Touch Me Not). This flag was flown until February 10, 1861, when it was removed to the Governor's Office after it was damaged by severe weather. It was never flown again

Alabama Department of Archives and History

The bill to legalize a state coat of arms was introduced in the Alabama Legislature of 1939 by James Simpson, Jefferson County, and was passed without a dissenting vote by both houses. The coat of arms consists of a shield on which appears the emblems of the five governments that have held sovereignty over Alabama. The flags of Spain, France, Great Britian, the Confederacy are bound by the flag and shield of the United States. This shield is supported on either side by bald eagles, symbolic of courage. The crest is a model of the ship, the Baldine , that Iberville and Bienville sailed from France to settle a colony near present day Mobile (1699).

The motto beneath the shield is " Audemus jura nostra defendere ."

"We Dare Maintain Our Rights" or "We Dare Defend Our Rights."

Bonnie Blue Flag
Bonnie Blue
The Confederate government did not adopt this flag but the people did and the lone star flags were adopted in some form in five of the southern States that adopted new flags in 1861.

Southern Cross Flag
Used as a navy jack at sea from 1863 onward. This flag has become the generally recognized symbol of the South.

Second Confederate Flag
On May 1st,1863, a second design was adopted, placing the Battle Flag (also known as the "Southern Cross") as the canton on a white field. This flag was easily mistaken for a white flag of surrender especially when the air was calm and the flag hung limply. More on Confederate Flags